Former Sex Pistol Johnny Rotten (real name John Lydon) is threatening to slap British producer Danny Boyle with a lawsuit over a TV miniseries he’s doing about the seminal UK punk act.
Dubbed Pistol, the six-episode limited series is based on Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones’ 2017 memoir Lonely Boy: Tales From a Sex Pistol and, according to The Sunday Times, Rotten is pissed that he hasn’t been hired as a consultant on the project.
In an interview with the UK paper (via NME), the former Pistols frontman slagged off the series in a big way.
“The most disrespectful shit I’ve ever had to endure,” he said. “I mean, they went to the point to hire an actor to play me but what’s the actor working on? Certainly not my character. It can’t go anywhere else [but court].”
It’s unclear exactly what grounds the ex-punk thinks he has to sue, but that definitely isn’t stopping him from trying.
“Sorry, you think you can do this, like walk all over me – it isn’t going to happen,” Rotten continued. “Not without a huge, enormous fucking fight. I’m Johnny, you know, and when you interfere with my business you’re going to get the bitter end of my business as a result. It’s a disgrace.”
According to a spokesperson for the Pistol series, Boyle actually reached out to Rotten’s management, but “ultimately direct contact was declined”.
It comes after Rotten recently made headlines after going public with a story about his flea-bitten penis.
We’ll keep you looped with any updates.
